Beyond Geometry: From Candela&apos

[EN] Félix Candela is best known for his innovative hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) geometry, his structural surfaces that resulted in extremely thin concrete roofs with a new scale and material efficiency, as well as a unique textural and atmospheric quality. While his work is predominantly valued fo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Eisenschmidt, Alexander
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
español
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/229781
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/229781
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Candela
Structure
Shell
Concrete
Housing
Estructura
Envolvente
Hormigón
Vivienda
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] Félix Candela is best known for his innovative hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) geometry, his structural surfaces that resulted in extremely thin concrete roofs with a new scale and material efficiency, as well as a unique textural and atmospheric quality. While his work is predominantly valued for its contributions to architectural and structural engineering a seemingly inescapable reading it is also important to stress its spatial properties, formal expression, economic conditioning, and social implications. Focusing on these so far understudied aspects of his oeuvre not only allows a reevaluation of Candela s work but also productively entangles his experiments into a wider context: from Mexico s efforts to construct more schools in rural and indigenous communities in the 1940s to contemporary practices like PRODUCTORA and their legible geometries and material precision. As for the latter, Candela s work certainly constitutes a singular contribution, but his influence on generations to come goes beyond the often-celebrated engineering accomplishments of shell construction. In fact, the perceived limitations of his influence might have resulted from an overemphasis on structural and material lessons that over-relied on manual labor.